Excited at this new discovery, Adam eased forward to get a better look. The turtle was a giant of it’s kind. Adam thought it must have been three feet across and weighed at least a hundred pounds. It had a large brown, dome shaped shell, with yellow spots all over it. Adam remembered his father saying they were called box turtles or terrapins. He didn’t know they grew to be so big.
The turtle’s head was out and it seemed to be looking right at him. Curious, Adam eased his stick forward to poke it to see if it would move. As he did so the giant turtle quickly reached out and grabbed the end of his stick with its mouth. This caught Adam by surprise and he almost let go of his stick.
Adam grabbed the end of his stick with both hands and tugged on it, several times. He tried to get it to let go, but has no luck. The turtle hissed loudly at Adam as it pulled back on the stick. He was surprised at how strong the turtle was. Back and forth they went for several moments until there was a loud snap and the stick broke in two. With the sudden release of his end of the stick, Adam stumbled back, lost his balance and then fell.
As Adam hit the ground he thought he heard someone say, “Humph, pesky human!”
Adam quickly stood up and looked around, but he didn’t see anyone else in the area. As he dusted himself off he looked back at the turtle. It had come out from under the brush and was slowly making its way along the edge of the stream toward the back edge of their property. The turtle stopped once and looked right at Adam. It then slowly set off again. Adam followed the large reptile until it eventually crossed a gap in the fence at the edge of their property. He watched it make its way across the woods, heading toward the distant lake. It eventually disappeared in the forest beyond the fence line.
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